Beverage preparation machine with foam refinement

ABSTRACT

A machine ( 1 ) for dispensing a beverage ( 100 ) has: a beverage directing guide ( 10 ) for directing by the directing guide ( 10 ) beverage ( 100 ) to an area ( 2 ) for placing a user-recipient; and a beverage processing unit ( 5 ) having a unit outlet ( 51 ) via which liquid ( 100,101 ) is passed from the beverage guide ( 50 ) to the directing guide ( 10 ) that is located below the unit outlet ( 51 ). The directing guide ( 10 ) has a flow cavity ( 10   a ), a bottom ( 10   b ) and sidewalls ( 10   c ) such that the bottom ( 10   b ) and the sidewalls ( 10   c ) delimit the flow cavity ( 10   a ). The directing guide ( 10 ) has an inflow penetrator ( 12 ) for acting on a flow of beverage ( 100 ) delivered by the unit outlet ( 51 ) onto the penetrator ( 12 ) prior to reaching the bottom ( 10   b ) of the flow cavity ( 10   a ).

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a National Stage of International ApplicationNo. PCT/EP2018/085359, filed on Dec. 18, 2018, which claims priority toEuropean Patent Application No. 17208727.2, filed on Dec. 20, 2017, theentire contents of which are being incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The field of the invention pertains to beverage preparation machines, inparticular using capsules of an ingredient of the beverage to beprepared, having an arrangement for refining beverage foam produced withthe beverage.

For the purpose of the present description, a “beverage” is meant toinclude any human-consumable liquid substance, such as tea, coffee, hotor cold chocolate, milk, soup, baby food, etc. . . . . A “capsule” ismeant to include any pre-portioned beverage ingredient, such as aflavouring ingredient, within an enclosing packaging of any material, inparticular an airtight packaging, e.g. plastic, aluminium, recyclableand/or biodegradable packagings, and of any shape and structure,including soft pods or rigid cartridges containing the ingredient. Thecapsule may contain an amount of ingredient for preparing a singlebeverage serving or a plurality of beverage servings.

BACKGROUND ART

Certain beverage preparation machines use capsules containingingredients to be extracted or to be dissolved; for other machines, theingredients are stored and dosed automatically in the machine or elseare added at the time of preparation of the drink.

Most beverage machines possess within a housing: filling means thatinclude a pump for liquid, usually water, which pumps the liquid from asource of water that is cold or indeed heated through heating means,such as a heating resistor, a boiler, a thermoblock or the like, abrewing unit in which an ingredient is brewed with water or a mixingunit in which ingredients are mixed together, and a beverage outlet fordispensing the prepared beverage. Typically, the beverage outlet islocated above a beverage dispensing zone, e.g. above a grid forsupporting a cup or other recipient under the outlet and for the passageof drops of liquid from the beverage outlet or other spills into acollector tray located under the grid.

For example, EP 1 440 639 discloses a beverage machine comprising areceptacle stand having a hollow interior forming a drip tray. An uppersurface of the receptacle stand is provided with a grill on which thereceptacle is positioned. The drip tray is removable from the housing toease emptying of the collected water. Drip tray devices with cupsupports are well known in the art. There are also such devices that arefurther arranged for allowing the adjustment of the vertical positionunder the beverage outlet of cups of different sizes. Examples ofarrangements in this field are disclosed in CA 2,260,352, EP 0 549 887,EP 1 731 065, EP 1 867 260, FR 2 439 042, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,161,455,5,353,692 and WO 2009/074557.

WO 2006/050769, WO 2012/072758, WO 2013/127907, WO 2016/050657, WO2016/083485 and PCT/EP17/075724 disclose various beverage machineshaving a beverage guide located downstream an ingredient processingmodule and for managing the beverage.

There is a need to provide a management system of beverages that foamduring their preparation such that the dispensed beverage has acontrolled foam, e.g. controlled crema when the beverage is coffee.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a machine for dispensing a beverage. Thebeverage preparation machine can be an in-home or out of home machine.The machine may be for the preparation of coffee, tea, chocolate, cacao,milk, soup, baby food, etc. . . .

The machine may be arranged for preparing within a beverage preparationunit a beverage by passing hot or cold water or another liquid through acapsule containing an ingredient, such as a flavoring ingredient, of thebeverage to be prepared, such as ground coffee or tea or chocolate orcacao or milk powder.

The beverage preparation typically includes the mixing of a plurality ofbeverage ingredients, e.g. water and milk powder, and/or the infusion ofa beverage ingredient, such as an infusion of ground coffee or tea withwater. One or more of such ingredients may be supplied in loose and/oragglomerate powder form and/or in liquid form, in particular in aconcentrate form. A carrier or diluents liquid, e.g. water, may be mixedwith such ingredient to form the beverage. Typically, a predeterminedamount of beverage is formed and dispensed on user-request, whichcorresponds to a serving. The volume of such a serving may be in therange of 25 to 200 ml and even up to 400 or 1000 ml, e.g. the volume forfilling a cup or a mug, depending on the type of beverage. Formed anddispensed beverages may be selected from ristrettos, espressos, lungos,cappuccinos, latte macchiato, café latte, americano coffees, teas, etc.In particular, a coffee machine may be configured for dispensingespressos, e.g. an adjustable volume of 20 to 60 ml per serving, and/orfor dispensing lungos, e.g. a volume in the range of 70 to 150 ml perserving, and/or for dispensing americanos, e.g. a volume in the range of150 to 500 ml.

The machine may include a (stationary) frame and/or housing in whichand/or to which the machine's components, e.g. the components mentionedbelow, are assembled. Exemplary beverage preparation architectures arefor instance disclosed in WO 2009/074550 and WO 2009/130099.

For instance, the beverage preparation unit is assembled to a machine'sframe, e.g. a housing.

In an embodiment, the ingredient is supplied within a capsule to thebeverage preparation unit. Such a capsule may have a container coveredby a lid e.g. a container and/or a lid extending radially to form aflange.

In the processing configuration, the processing unit may form aningredient chamber for containing and processing the ingredient.

Examples of ingredient processing units are described in WO 2007/135135,WO 2009/043630, WO 2011/042400, WO 2014/096122 and WO 2014/096123.

The processing unit can be configured to process a capsule containingthe beverage ingredient. The unit can have an ingredient chamber with atleast one capsule opener, such as at least one of: one or morepuncturing and/or tearing elements; and one or more pins and/or blades,such as a capsule piercer or tearing plate, e.g. as known from EP 0 512468, EP 0 512 470, EP 1 299 022, EP 1 339 305, WO 2013/026845, WO2014/076041, WO 2015/022342, WO 2015/022344 and WO 2015/022345.

The machine may further include a liquid driver, such as a pump, fordriving a liquid, e.g. water, along a liquid line from a liquid source,such as a liquid reservoir, via the processing module. Examples of pumpsin beverage machines are disclosed in WO 2006/005425, WO 2009/024500, WO2009/150030, WO 2010/108700 and WO 2011/107574,

Liquid may be driven in the processing unit via a thermal conditionersuch as a heater and/or a cooler.

A suitable heater may be a boiler, a thermoblock or an on demand heater(ODH), for instance an ODH disclosed in EP 1 253 844, EP 1 380 243 andEP 1 809 151. Other heaters are disclosed in WO 2009/043851, WO2009/043865, WO 2009/092746 and WO 2011/157675 and WO 2012/007260.

The machine has: a beverage directing guide for directing by thedirecting guide a beverage to an area for placing a user-recipient, e.g.a cup or a mug, to collect such dispensed beverage; and a beverageprocessing unit having a beverage guide and a unit outlet via whichliquid, e.g. beverage and/or waste liquid, is passed from the beverageguide to the directing guide that is located below the unit outlet. Thedirecting guide has a flow cavity, a bottom and sidewalls such that thebottom and the sidewalls delimit the flow cavity.

The placing area can be delimited by a receptacle support. Typically thesupport includes a support surface for positioning a user-recipient,e.g. a mug or a cup, to collect the dispensed beverage. The supportsurface may be formed by a support member that is part of the machine ormay be a virtual surface, e.g. the surface of a table on which themachine is placed. Examples of such support surfaces for user-recipientsare disclosed in EP 1 867 260, WO 2009/074557 and WO 2013/104636.

The directing guide may incorporate different flow managing elements,e.g. as disclosed in PCT/EP17/075726.

The directing guide has an inflow penetrator, such as an inflow-exposedprotuberance, for penetrating a flow of beverage delivered by the unitoutlet onto the penetrator prior to reaching the bottom of the flowcavity.

Hence, when the beverage arrives at the directing guide, such an inflowpenetrator acts on the flow of beverage.

Such action by the penetrator may result in the explosion of largebubbles carried with the beverage to refine the beverage's foam formedby the bubbles, e.g. crema in the case of coffee. In this case, thebeverage with the refined foam then reaches the bottom of the flowcavity along which it is drained towards the placing area for theuser-recipient.

The action of the inflow penetrator may serve to narrow the flow sectionof the beverage, e.g. if and when the penetrator enters the unit outlet,so as to reduce the flow rate of the beverage received in the directingguide, e.g. to increase the processing of the beverage upstream thedirecting guide.

The action of the inflow penetrator may serve to split or part the flowof beverage delivered into the directing guide.

The inflow penetrator can have one or more of the following features:

-   an upright generally spear-shaped member such as a member having a    cross-section that has the shape of a cross or star or circle or    convex polygon;-   a top, such as a tapered top, that extends into the unit outlet,    e.g. over a length in the range of 0.01 to 7 mm such as 0.3 to 3 mm,    or that is spaced under the unit outlet by a distance in the range    of 0.01 to 5 mm such as 0.3 to 3 mm; and-   a tapered top, e.g. a tapered top extending over a length in the    range of 1 to 7 mm such as 2 to 5 mm, that extends from a    cylindrical or prismatic penetrator bottom, e.g. a bottom extending    over a length in the range of 1 to 15 mm such as 3 to 7 mm,    optionally the penetrator bottom and the tapered top having a length    ratio in the range of 1.5 to 7 such as 2 to 5, e.g. 2.5 to 4.

The directing guide can have an inflow deflector, such as a plane-likein-flow deflector, for deflecting a flow of beverage delivered by theunit outlet thereon when the directing guide is in its dispensingposition. The inflow deflector can have at least one of the followingfeatures: the inflow deflector is a member extending longitudinally atan angle to a horizontal direction; the inflow deflector is located at afoot of the inflow penetrator; and the inflow deflector is spaced abovethe bottom of the directing guide to allow a flow of waste liquid underthe deflector.

The directing guide may have an inflow confinement panel for confining aflow of beverage upon exposure to the inflow penetrator. The confinementpanel may extend: over more than half of a height (e.g. an averageheight) of the flow cavity at the confinement panel, the confinementpanel being for instance generally upright; and/or generally in parallelto a or the inflow deflector onto which a flow of beverage is deflectedupon exposure to the inflow penetrator; and/or spaced above the bottomof the flow cavity so as to allow a passage of beverage under theconfinement panel.

The confinement panel, if and when present, may be used for theformation of a pool or beverage to retain large bubbles in the beveragebehind the confinement panel so that only the beverage's liquid and finebubbles (when present) are let beyond the confinement panel.

The directing guide can include a beverage dam arrangement that isformed of at least one beverage retaining wall, such as one or moreupright retaining walls, for accumulating a pool of beverage in thecavity upstream the dam arrangement.

Such a dam (when present) may allow the formation of a pool of beverageupstream of the dam. Hence, when the (liquid) beverage is formedtogether with foam, such a pool may improve the foam management ofbeverage dispensed outside the machine.

The dam arrangement may include one or more of:

-   two or more retaining walls arranged successively in the cavity    along a direction of flow of beverage;-   at least one retaining wall that has a bottom edge under which    beverage may pass and/or a top edge over which beverage may pass;-   at least one retaining wall that has one or more sidewalls around    which beverage may pass;-   at least one retaining wall that extends from the bottom of the    cavity;-   at least one retaining wall that extends from at least one sidewall    of the cavity, such as a pair of retaining walls that extend towards    each other from facing sidewalls, e.g. a pair retaining walls that    extend along a same direction or along mutually intercepting    directions;-   at least one retaining wall that is spaced from all sidewalls of the    cavity;-   at least one retaining wall that extends generally transversally to    a direction of flow of beverage in the cavity, optionally the    retaining wall extending along a direction that is perpendicular to    the direction of flow or at an angle thereto in the range of 1 to 45    deg., such as 5 to 30 deg., e.g. 10 to 20 deg.;-   at least one retaining wall having at least one section that extends    along a straight direction, such as along one, two or three    different straight directions, optionally the retaining wall being    made of one or more planar portions; and-   at least one retaining wall having at least one section that extends    along a curved direction, optionally the retaining wall being made    of one or more of cylindrical, conical, spherical and ellipsoidal    portions.

The directing guide can be movable from: a dispensing position in whichthe directing guide is positioned to direct beverage to the placingarea; to a non-dispensing position for directing by the directing guidewaste liquid, such as residual beverage and/or cleaning fluid, to awaste collector; and vice versa.

The waste collector may include a removable receptacle, e.g. locatedwith a machine's frame such as a machine housing. Examples of suchcollectors are disclosed in EP 1 867 260, WO 2009/074557, WO2009/074559, WO 2009/135869, WO 2011/086087 and WO 2011/154492.Typically, the waste collector is configured for collecting at least oneof: one or more waste beverage ingredients, such as a used flavouringingredient and/or waste water; one or more used capsules for supplying abeverage ingredient into the machine; and a cleaning agent, such as acleaning, rinsing or descaling liquid.

The machine may include an evacuation guide and an actuator, e.g.comprising a return spring and/or a motor, such as an electric or ahydraulic motor. Such motor may be a rotary motor or a linear motor oran electro-mechanical solenoid, e.g. cooperating with a return spring.

The directing guide can be configured to deliver the beverage or thewaste liquid into the evacuation guide towards the placing area ortowards the waste collector. The directing guide can be movable relativeto the evacuation guide, the evacuation guide being actuated by theactuator to act on the directing guide so as to move the directing guidetowards at least one of the dispensing position and the non-dispensingposition.

It follows that the evacuation guide that can be used for evacuatingbeverage and/or waste liquid from the directing guide can also be usedto act on the directing guide to move it between its dispensing andnon-dispensing position.

For instance, the directing guide is in the non-dispensing configurationwhen the machine is not processing any beverage and then moved into thedispensing configuration when the machine starts to process or dispensea beverage. A beverage may be processed during a period of time withinthe machine before any dispensing of beverage is intended (e.g. apre-wetting period of a beverage ingredient intend to be brewed), inwhich case the directing guide may be moved into the dispensingconfiguration either at the beginning of the beverage processing or atthe beginning of the beverage dispensing or at some point in timebetween these two events.

The directing guide can be associated with a biasing device, such as aspring, e.g. a spring blade or spring wire or spiral or helicoidalspring, for urging the directing guide into its dispensing position orinto its non-dispensing position. The directing guide can be urgedselectively into its dispensing position and into its non-dispensingposition by such a biasing device, e.g. comprising a bistable resilientarrangement.

The evacuation guide may be arranged to push and/or pull the directingguide, the evacuation guide being for instance urged against thedirecting guide.

The machine can have a stationary frame (e.g. a frame that is stationaryduring the normal use of the machine to dispense beverage). Thedirecting guide may be pivotally and/or translationally, directly orindirectly, mounted to the frame, e.g. about a pivoting axis, theevacuation guide being pivotally and/or translationally, directly orindirectly, mounted to the frame. For example, the directing guide ispivotally driven by a translational actuation by the evacuation guide.

The machine can include a transmission, e.g. a toothed and/or frictiontransmission, for transmitting a movement from the actuator to theevacuation guide, such as a transmission having one or more transmissionelements selected from connecting rods, knuckle joints, gears, pinions,wheels, belts and racks.

The machine may include a control unit for controlling at least one ofthe motor (when present) and electric machine components, such as aliquid driver, thermal conditioner, a user-interface. Examples ofcontrol units and user-interfaces are disclosed in WO 2008/138710, WO2009/043851, WO 2009/043865, WO 2009/092745, WO 2010/003932, WO2010/037806, WO 2010/046442, WO 2011/020779, WO 2011/026853, WO2011/054889, WO 2011/067156, WO 2011/067157, WO 2011/067181, WO2011/067188, WO 2011/067191, WO 2011/067227, WO 2011/067232, WO2011/144719, WO 2012/032019, WO 2012/072761, WO 2012/072764, WO2012/072767 and WO 2012/093107.

The evacuation guide may have a conduit as well as a tub or funnel influid communication with the conduit, the tub or funnel being configuredto collect beverage or waste liquid from the directing guide and toguide it into the conduit towards the placing area or towards the wastecollector. The evacuation guide may include one or more of the followingfeatures:

-   the tub or funnel is configured to contact the directing guide to    move it between the dispensing and non-dispensing positions;-   the tub or funnel extends generally along a direction below the    directing guide, the tub or funnel direction being optionally    generally horizontal or at a small angle thereto, e.g. at an angle    in the range of 1 to 30 deg. such as 2 to 15 deg.;-   the conduit is in contact and driven by the actuator, directly or    indirectly, via a or the transmission;-   the conduit extends along a generally upright conduit direction and    is arranged to move linearly generally along the upright direction,    optionally the upright direction being vertical or at a small angle    thereto, e.g. at an angle in the range of 1 to 30 deg. such as 2 to    15 deg.; and-   the conduit extends generally downwards from a side and/or bottom of    the tub or funnel.

The machine can have: a user-removable support frame that supports thedirecting guide; and a seat above the placing area for removablyreceiving the support frame.

It follows that by assembling the movable directing guide on a removablesupport frame, the movable directing guide can be easily removed by theuser from the machine for replacement after extended use or forservicing, e.g. cleaning especially to avoid clogging or malfunctioningof the directing guide due to residual beverage. Whereas the motion ofthe movable directing guide in the stationary frame of the machine isconfigured for the directing of liquid in the machine, the movability ofthe support frame (with the directing guide) is configured for a motionof the support frame into and out of the machine's stationary frame. Themovable directing guide can be separated from its support frameconveniently outside the machine upon removal of the support frame withthe directing guide from the stationary frame.

As the removable support frame and the directing guide can be removedfrom and inserted into the seat by an ordinary user, no special (safety)tool, at least no tool going beyond tools that can be ordinarily foundin households, or special skills or knowledge is required therefor. Inany case, no special training or (service) personnel is required tooperate the support frame and the directing guide.

Optionally, such machine has one or more of the following features:

-   the support frame has an assembly arrangement for movably assembling    the directing guide to the support frame whereby the directing guide    is movable in the support frame from a or the dispensing position to    a or the non-dispensing position and vice versa, for instance the    assembly arrangement having a bearing for pivotably mounting an axle    of the directing guide or having an axle for pivotably mounting a    bearing of the directing guide to allow the directing guide to move    on the support frame from its dispensing position to its    non-dispensing position and vice versa;-   the directing guide is urged into a or the dispensing position or    into a or the non-dispensing position by a biasing device, such as a    spring e.g. a spring blade or spring wire or spiral or helicoidal    spring, that is mounted to the support frame and to the directing    guide, for instance the directing guide being urged selectively into    its dispensing position and into its non-dispensing position by such    a biasing device that comprises a bistable resilient arrangement;    and-   the user-removable support frame and the directing guide are secured    in the seat by a securing arrangement, such as a snap arrangement    and/or a magnetic arrangement and/or a lock.

The support frame can have:

-   an upstream opening adjacent the unit outlet when the directing    guide and the support frame are in the seat such that beverage    and/or waste liquid may pass from the unit outlet into the directing    guide via the upstream opening, such as an upstream opening formed    in a top panel of the support frame and/or delimited by an upper end    of a sidewall of support frame; and-   one or more downstream openings for allowing a passage of beverage    from the directing guide to the placing area and/or of liquid waste    from the directing guide to the waste collector when the support    frame and the directing guide are received in the seat, such as (a)    downstream opening(s) formed in a bottom panel of the support frame    and/or delimited by (a) lower end(s) of (a) sidewall(s) of the    support frame.

The machine can have a locking arrangement that is movable between: alocking position in which the locking arrangement locks the supportframe and the directing guide in the seat; and an unlocking position inwhich the locking arrangement allows at least a removal of the supportframe and the directing guide from the seat and optionally an insertionof the support frame and the directing guide into the seat. Forinstance, the locking arrangement forms a movable part of the beverageprocessing unit, such as a movable part of a mixing or brewing module ofthe processing unit, which part can be moved into an open position forinserting and/or removing an ingredient into the module, e.g. into amodule's chamber such as an ingredient capsule chamber, and into aclosed position for processing the ingredient.

The directing guide can have a beverage outlet that is configured forbeverage to drain out of the flow cavity to the placing area andoptionally a waste outlet that is configured for waste liquid to drainout of the flow cavity to a or the waste collector. The beverage outletor, when present, the waste outlet can be associated with an arrangementfor directing beverage or liquid waste in a desired direction out of theoutlet. Such arrangement may include one or more ribs or rods projectinginto the outlet or extending along the outlet. Optionally, the directingguide is moved into a or the dispensing position so that the flow cavityis tilted towards the beverage outlet, and is moved into a or thenon-dispensing position so that the flow cavity is tilted towards thewaste outlet. The flow cavity can have a or the inflow deflector that islocated between the beverage outlet and the waste outlet, such as aninflow deflector that is spaced above the bottom of the cavity so thatbeverage and/or waste liquid can drain along the bottom under the inflowdeflector.

When reference is made in the present description to an orientation orposition relative to the machine or parts thereof, e.g. “above” or“below” or “vertical” or “horizontal”, the orientation or position takesas a reference the position and orientation of the machine in operationto process the liquid food substance in the food cavity unless specifiedotherwise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described with reference to the schematicdrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates part of a machine with a directing guide having aninflow penetrator according to the invention, the directing guide havingalso a dispensing position, the machine having an evacuation guide aswell;

FIG. 2 illustrates the same parts as in FIG. 1 with the directing guidein a non-dispensing position;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the directing guide with the inflowpenetrator of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIGS. 4 to 8 illustrate the directing guide with an inflow penetratorand a flow cavity and different flow managing elements in the cavity;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the beverage machine according to theinvention which has a locking arrangement in position for locking thedirecting guide and a support frame in the corresponding machine's seat;

FIG. 10 shows the machine of FIG. 9 with its locking arrangement in theunlocked position;

FIGS. 11 to 13 form a sequence illustrating the removal of the directingguide and in its support frame from the machine's seat;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view from below of the directing guide in thesupport frame;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view from above of the directing guide in thesupport frame; and

FIG. 16 is an exploded view of the directing guide, the support frameand a biasing element for biasing the guide into the dispensing ornon-dispensing position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description in connection with the appended figuresillustrates a non-limiting example and possible variations thereof of amachine according to the invention.

FIGS. 1 to 16 illustrate an exemplary machine 1 for dispensing abeverage 100 (FIGS. 9 and 10) according to the invention, as well asparts (FIGS. 1 to 3 and 11 to 16), and variations (FIGS. 4 to 8)thereof.

Machine 1 has: a beverage directing guide 10 for directing by directingguide 10 a beverage 100 to an area 2 for placing a user-recipient, e.g.a cup or a mug, to collect such dispensed beverage 100; and a beverageprocessing unit 5 having a beverage guide 50 and a unit outlet 51 viawhich liquid 100,101, e.g. beverage 100 and/or waste liquid 101, ispassed from beverage guide 50 to directing guide 10 that is locatedbelow unit outlet 51. Directing guide 10 has a flow cavity 10 a, abottom 10 b and sidewalls 10 c such that bottom 10 b and sidewalls 10 cdelimit flow cavity 10 a.

Directing guide 10 has an inflow penetrator 12, such as aninflow-exposed protuberance 12, for penetrating a flow of beverage 100delivered by unit outlet 51 onto inflow penetrator 12 prior to reachingbottom 10 b of flow cavity 10 a.

Inflow penetrator 12 may have one or more of the following features:

-   an upright generally spear-shaped member, such as a member having a    cross-section that has the shape of a cross or star or circle or    convex polygon;-   a top 121, such as a tapered top, that extends into the unit outlet    51, e.g. over a length in the range of 0.01 to 7 mm such as 0.3 to 3    mm, or that is spaced under the unit outlet 51 by a distance in the    range of 0.01 to 5 mm such as 0.3 to 3 mm; and-   a tapered top 121, e.g. a tapered top extending over a length in the    range of 1 to 7 mm such as 2 to 5 mm, that extends from a    cylindrical or prismatic penetrator bottom 122, e.g. a bottom    extending over a length in the range of 1 to 15 mm such as 3 to 7    mm, optionally penetrator bottom 122 and tapered top 121 having a    length ratio in the range of 1.5 to 7 such as 2 to 5, e.g. 2.5 to 4.

Directing guide 10 can have an inflow deflector 13, such as a plane-likein-flow deflector, for deflecting a flow of beverage 100 upon exposureto penetrator 12.

Inflow deflector 13 may have at least one of the following features:inflow deflector 13 is a member extending longitudinally at an angle toa horizontal direction; inflow deflector 13 is located at a foot of theinflow penetrator; and inflow deflector 13 is spaced above bottom 10 bof directing guide 10 to allow a flow of waste liquid 101 underdeflector 12.

Directing guide 10 can have an inflow confinement panel 14, 14 a forconfining a flow of beverage 100 upon exposure to penetrator 12.Confinement panel 14, 14 a may extend: over more than half of a height(e.g. an average height) of flow cavity 10 a at confinement panel 14,confinement panel 14 being for instance generally upright; and/orgenerally in parallel to a or the inflow deflector 13 onto which a flowof beverage 100 is deflected upon exposure to penetrator 12; and/orspaced above bottom 10 b of flow cavity 10 a so as to allow a passage ofbeverage 100 under confinement panel 14, 14 a.

Directing guide 10 may include a beverage dam arrangement that is formedof at least one beverage retaining wall 15, 15 a, 15 b, 15 c, 15 d, suchas one or more upright retaining walls, for accumulating a pool ofbeverage 100 in cavity 10 a upstream dam arrangement. Dam arrangementmay have one or more of:

-   two or more retaining walls 15 a, 15 c arranged successively in    cavity 10 a along a direction of flow of beverage 100;-   at least one retaining wall 15 a that has a bottom edge under which    beverage 100 may pass and/or a top edge over which beverage 100 may    pass;-   at least one retaining wall 15 b, 15 c, 15 d that has one or more    sidewalls around which beverage 100 may pass;-   at least one retaining wall 15, 15 c that extends from bottom 10 b    of cavity 10 a;-   at least one retaining wall 15 a, 15 b, 15 d that extends from at    least one sidewall 10 c of cavity 10 a, such as a pair of retaining    walls 15 b, 15 d that extend towards each other from facing    sidewalls 10 c, e.g. a pair retaining walls 15 b, 15 d that extend    along a same direction or along mutually intercepting directions;-   at least one retaining wall 15 c that is spaced from all sidewalls    10 c of cavity 10 a;-   at least one retaining wall 15 b, 15 d that extends generally    transversally to a direction of flow of beverage 100 in the cavity,    optionally retaining wall 15 b, 15 d extending along a direction    that is perpendicular to the direction of flow or at an angle    thereto in the range of 1 to 45 deg., such as 5 to 30 deg., e.g. 10    to 20 deg.;-   at least one retaining wall 15 a, 15 b, 15 d having at least one    section that extends along a straight direction, such as along one,    two or three different straight directions, optionally the retaining    wall being made of one or more planar portions; and-   at least one retaining wall 15 c having at least one section that    extends along a curved direction, optionally the retaining wall    being made of one or more of cylindrical, conical, spherical and    ellipsoidal portions.

Directing guide 10 can be movable from: a dispensing position in whichdirecting guide 10 is positioned to direct beverage 100 to area 2 forplacing a user-recipient; to a non-dispensing position for directing bythe directing guide 10 waste liquid 101, such as residual beverageand/or cleaning fluid, to a waste collector 3; and vice versa.

Machine 1 may further include an evacuation guide 20 and an actuator 30e.g. comprising a return spring and/or a motor such as an electric or ahydraulic motor. Directing guide 10 can be configured to deliverbeverage 100 or waste liquid 101 into evacuation guide 20 towardsplacing area 2 or towards waste collector 3. Directing guide 10 may bemovable relative to evacuation guide 20. Evacuation guide 20 may beactuated by actuator 30 to act on directing guide 10 so as to movedirecting guide 10 towards at least one of the dispensing position andthe non-dispensing position. Directing guide 10 can be associated with abiasing device 17, such as a spring, e.g. a spring blade or spring wireor spiral or helicoidal spring, for urging directing guide 10 into itsdispensing position or into its non-dispensing position.

For instance, directing guide 10 is urged selectively into itsdispensing position and into its non-dispensing position by such abiasing device that may include a bistable resilient arrangement.

Evacuation guide 20 can be arranged to push and/or pull directing guide10, evacuation guide 20 being for instance urged against the directingguide 10.

Machine 1 can have a stationary frame 4, directing guide 10 beingpivotally and/or translationally, directly or indirectly, mounted toframe 4, e.g. about a pivoting axis 11, the evacuation guide 20 beingpivotally and/or translationally, directly or indirectly, mounted toframe 4. Directing guide 10 can be pivotally driven by a translationalactuation by evacuation guide 20.

Machine 1 may include a transmission 31, e.g. a toothed and/or frictiontransmission, for transmitting a movement from actuator 30 to evacuationguide 20, such as a transmission comprising one or more transmissionelements selected from connecting rods, knuckle joints, gears, pinions,wheels, belts and racks.

Evacuation guide 20 can have a conduit 21 and a tub or funnel 22 influid communication with conduit 21. Tub or funnel 22 may be configuredto collect beverage 100 or waste liquid 101 from directing guide 10 andto guide it into conduit 21 towards the placing area or towards wastecollector 3. For example, evacuation guide 20 has one or more of thefollowing features:

-   tub or funnel 22 is configured to contact directing guide 10 to move    it between the dispensing and non-dispensing positions;-   tub or funnel 22 extends generally along a direction below directing    guide 10, the tub or funnel direction being optionally generally    horizontal or at a small angle thereto, e.g. at an angle in the    range of 1 to 30 deg. such as 2 to 15 deg.;-   conduit 21 is in contact and driven by actuator 30 directly or    indirectly via a or the transmission 31;-   conduit 21 extends along a generally upright conduit direction and    is arranged to move linearly generally along the upright direction,    optionally the upright direction being vertical or at a small angle    thereto, e.g. at an angle in the range of 1 to 30 deg. such as 2 to    15 deg.; and-   conduit 21 extends generally downwards from a side and/or bottom of    tub or funnel 22.

Machine 1 can have: a user-removable support frame 16 that supportsdirecting guide 10; and a seat 52 above placing area 2 for removablyreceiving support frame 16. Machine 1 may have one or more of thefollowing features:

-   support frame 16 has an assembly arrangement 161 for movably    assembling the directing guide 10 to support frame 16 whereby    directing guide 10 is movable in support frame 16 from a or the    dispensing position to a or the non-dispensing position and vice    versa, the assembly arrangement may have a bearing 161 for pivotably    mounting an axle 11 of the directing guide 10 or may have an axle    for pivotably mounting a bearing of directing guide 10 to allow    directing guide 10 to move on the support frame from its dispensing    position to its non-dispensing position and vice versa;-   directing guide 10 is urged into a or the dispensing position or    into a or the non-dispensing position by a biasing device 17, such    as a spring e.g. a spring blade or spring wire or spiral or    helicoidal spring, that is mounted to support frame 16 and to    directing guide 10, directing guide 10 may be urged selectively into    its dispensing position and into its non-dispensing position by such    a biasing device that comprises for instance a bistable resilient    arrangement; and-   user-removable support frame 16 and directing guide 10 can be    secured in seat 52 by a securing arrangement, such as a snap    arrangement and/or a magnetic arrangement and/or a lock.

Support frame 16 can have:

-   an upstream opening 18 adjacent unit outlet 51 when directing guide    10 and support frame 16 are in seat 52 such that beverage 100 and/or    waste liquid 101 may pass from unit outlet 51 into directing guide    10 via upstream opening 18, such as an upstream opening 18 formed in    a top panel 162 of support frame 16 and/or delimited by an upper end    of a sidewall of support frame 16; and-   one or more downstream openings 19 allowing a passage of beverage    100 from directing guide 10 to placing area 2 and/or of liquid waste    101 from directing guide to waste collector 3 when support frame 16    and directing guide 10 are received in seat 52, such as (a)    downstream opening(s) 19 formed in a bottom panel of support frame    16 and/or delimited by (a) lower end(s) 163 of (a) sidewall(s) of    support frame 16.

Machine 1 can have a locking arrangement 53 that is movable between: alocking position in which locking arrangement 53 locks support frame 16and directing guide 10 in seat 52; and an unlocking position in whichlocking arrangement 53 allows at least a removal of support frame 16 anddirecting guide 10 from the seat and optionally an insertion of supportframe 16 and directing guide 10 into seat 15. Locking arrangement 53 mayform a movable part of beverage processing unit 5 such as a movable part53 of a mixing or brewing module of processing unit 5 which part can bemoved: into an open position for inserting and/or removing an ingredientinto the module, for instance into a module's chamber 54 e.g. aningredient capsule chamber 54; and into a closed position for processingthe ingredient.

Directing guide 10 may have a beverage outlet 10′ that is configured forbeverage 100 to drain out of flow cavity 10 a to placing area 2 andoptionally a waste outlet 10″ that is configured for waste liquid 101 todrain out of flow cavity 10 a to a or waste collector 3. Beverage outlet10′, or when present waste outlet 10″, can be associated with anarrangement 10′″ for directing beverage 100 or liquid waste 101 in adesired direction out of outlet 10′,10″, such as an arrangement 10′″comprising one or more ribs or rods projecting into outlet 10′,10″ orextending along the outlet. Directing guide 10 can be moved into a orthe dispensing position so that flow cavity 10 a is tilted towardsbeverage outlet 10′ and can be moved into a or the non-dispensingposition so that flow cavity 10 a is tilted towards waste outlet 10″.For example, flow cavity 10 a has a or the inflow deflector 13 that islocated between beverage outlet 10′ and waste outlet 10″, such as inflowdeflector 13 that is spaced above bottom 10 b of the cavity 10 a so thatbeverage 100 and/or waste liquid 101 can drain along bottom 10 b underinflow deflector 13.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A machine for dispensing a beverage, themachine comprising: a beverage directing guide configured for directingthe beverage to a placing area configured for placing a user-recipient;and a beverage processing unit having a beverage guide and a unitoutlet, wherein the unit outlet is configured to pass a liquid that isat least one of the beverage or a waste liquid from the beverage guideto the beverage directing guide, wherein the beverage directing guide islocated below the unit outlet, the beverage directing guide having aflow cavity, a bottom, and sidewalls such that the bottom and thesidewalls delimit the flow cavity, the beverage directing guide has aninflow penetrator configured for penetrating a flow of the beveragedelivered by the unit outlet onto the inflow penetrator prior toreaching the bottom of the beverage directing guide, the beveragedirecting guide has an inflow deflector configured for deflecting theflow of the beverage upon exposure to the inflow penetrator, wherein theinflow deflector is located at a foot of the inflow penetrator.
 2. Themachine of claim 1, wherein the inflow penetrator has one or morefeatures selected from the group consisting of: an upright spear-shapedmember; a top that extends into the unit outlet or that is positionedunder the unit outlet; and a tapered top.
 3. The machine of claim 1,wherein the inflow deflector has at least one feature selected from thegroup consisting of: the inflow deflector comprises a member extendinglongitudinally at an angle to a horizontal direction; and the inflowdeflector is spaced above the bottom of the beverage directing guide toallow the waste liquid to flow under the inflow deflector.
 4. Themachine of claim 1, wherein the beverage directing guide has an inflowconfinement panel configured for confining the flow of the beverage uponexposure to the inflow penetrator.
 5. The machine of claim 1, whereinthe beverage directing guide has a beverage outlet configured for thebeverage to drain out of the flow cavity to the placing area.
 6. Themachine of claim 1, which has: a user-removable support frame thatsupports the beverage directing guide; and a seat above the placing areaconfigured for removably receiving the user-removable support frame. 7.The machine of claim 6, wherein the user-removable support frame has: anupstream opening adjacent the unit outlet when the beverage directingguide and the user-removable support frame are in the seat such that thebeverage or the waste liquid may pass from the unit outlet into thebeverage directing guide via the upstream opening; and one or moredownstream openings configured for allowing passage of the beverage fromthe beverage directing guide to the placing area and/or of the wasteliquid from the directing guide to the waste collector when the supportframe and the beverage directing guide are received in the seat.
 8. Themachine of claim 6, which has a locking arrangement that is movablebetween: a locking position in which the locking arrangement locks thesupport frame and the beverage directing guide in the seat; and anunlocking position in which the locking arrangement allows at least aremoval of the support frame and the beverage directing guide from theseat.
 9. The machine of claim 8, wherein, when the locking arrangementis in the unlocking position, the locking arrangement allows insertionof the support frame and the beverage directing guide into the seat. 10.A machine for dispensing a beverage, the machine comprising: a beveragedirecting guide configured for directing the beverage to a placing areaconfigured for placing a user-recipient; and a beverage processing unithaving a beverage guide and a unit outlet, wherein the unit outlet isconfigured to pass a liquid that is at least one of the beverage or awaste liquid from the beverage guide to the beverage directing guidelocated below the unit outlet, the beverage directing guide having aflow cavity, a bottom, and sidewalls such that the bottom and thesidewalls delimit the flow cavity, the beverage directing guide has aninflow penetrator configured for penetrating a flow of the beveragedelivered by the unit outlet onto the inflow penetrator prior toreaching the bottom of the beverage directing guide, wherein thebeverage directing guide comprises a beverage dam arrangement that isformed of at least one beverage retaining wall, the at least onebeverage retaining wall being configured for accumulating a pool of thebeverage in the flow cavity upstream of the beverage dam arrangement.11. The machine of claim 10, wherein the dam arrangement comprises oneor more components selected from the group consisting of: two or moreretaining walls arranged successively in the flow cavity along adirection of flow of the beverage; at least one retaining wall that hasa bottom edge under which the beverage may pass and/or a top edge overwhich the beverage may pass; at least one retaining wall that has one ormore sidewalls around which the beverage may pass; at least oneretaining wall that extends from the bottom of the beverage directingguide; at least one retaining wall that extends from at least onesidewall of the beverage directing guide; at least one retaining wallthat is spaced from all sidewalls of the beverage directing guide; atleast one retaining wall that extends transversally to a direction offlow of the beverage in the flow cavity; at least one retaining wallhaving at least one section that extends along a straight direction,such as along one, two, or three different straight directions; and atleast one retaining wall having at least one section that extends alonga curved direction.
 12. The machine of claim 11, wherein the damarrangement comprises a pair of retaining walls that extend towards eachother from facing sidewalls of the beverage directing guide.
 13. Amachine for dispensing a beverage, the machine comprising: a beveragedirecting guide configured for directing the beverage to a placing areafor placing a user-recipient; and a beverage processing unit having abeverage guide and a unit outlet, wherein the unit outlet is configuredto pass a liquid that is at least one of the beverage or a waste liquidfrom the beverage guide to the beverage directing guide located belowthe unit outlet, the beverage directing guide having a flow cavity, abottom, and sidewalls such that the bottom and the sidewalls delimit theflow cavity, the beverage directing guide has an inflow penetratorconfigured for penetrating a flow of the beverage delivered by the unitoutlet onto the inflow penetrator prior to reaching the bottom of thebeverage directing guide; wherein the beverage directing guide ismovable from: a dispensing position in which the beverage directingguide is positioned to direct the beverage to the placing areaconfigured for placing a user-recipient; to a non-dispensing position inwhich the beverage directing guide is positioned to direct the wasteliquid to a waste collector; and vice versa.
 14. The machine of claim13, further comprising an evacuation guide and an actuator, the beveragedirecting guide being configured to deliver the beverage or the wasteliquid into the evacuation guide towards the placing area or towards thewaste collector, the beverage directing guide being movable relative tothe evacuation guide, the evacuation guide being actuated by theactuator to act on the beverage directing guide so as to move thebeverage directing guide towards at least one of the dispensing positionand the non-dispensing position.
 15. The machine of claim 14, which hasa stationary frame, the beverage directing guide being pivotally and/ortranslationally, directly or indirectly, mounted to the stationaryframe, the evacuation guide being pivotally and/or translationally,directly or indirectly, mounted to the stationary frame.
 16. The machineof claim 14, wherein the evacuation guide has a conduit and a tub or afunnel in fluid communication with the conduit, the tub or the funnelbeing configured to collect the beverage or the waste liquid from thebeverage directing guide and to guide the beverage or the waste liquidinto the conduit towards the placing area or towards the wastecollector.
 17. The machine of claim 14, wherein the evacuation guide isarranged to push and/or pull the beverage directing guide.
 18. Themachine of claim 17, wherein the actuator is configured to urge theevacuation guide against the beverage directing guide.
 19. The machineof claim 14, which comprises a transmission configured for transmittinga movement from the actuator to the evacuation guide.
 20. The machine ofclaim 19, wherein the transmission comprises one or more transmissionelements selected from the group consisting of connecting rods, knucklejoints, gears, pinions, wheels, belts, and racks.